


we're gonna be (okay)

by bukkunkun



Category: Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, Birthday Fluff, Birthday Presents, Cute, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Gen, Ignore the Second Chapter If You Wanna Stay Happy, Light Angst, Light-Hearted, M/M, Mysterio Is Here And It's Time To Fuckin Party, Plot Twists, Superfamily (Marvel), Surprise Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-31
Updated: 2019-05-31
Packaged: 2020-04-05 02:59:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19039795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bukkunkun/pseuds/bukkunkun
Summary: It's Tony Stark's birthday, and Peter Parker wonders what could you possibly give to a man who has everything.Wholesome superfamily (stony + spiderson) feels with a good ending, if you ignore the second chapter.





	1. we're gonna be (okay)

**Author's Note:**

> > my one braincell: despite the fact that cap is my favourite avenger, my favourite character is tony stark because I relate to him a lot and he resonates with me deeply, I feel a connection with his character  
>    
>  my cursed ass: I’m kin with Tony Stark what about it, doubles ok
>> 
>> — 🌻 bukkun, MSc 🌟 TONY DAY 🎉 (@trickscd) [29 May 2019](https://twitter.com/trickscd/status/1133620006242045953?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
> 
> **[please blame my followers on twitter for the turnout in the second chapter.](https://twitter.com/trickscd/status/1133722954145996802) if you want to ignore the second ending, please don't read the second chapter.**
> 
> so this is actually a giant promo for a book i'm currently writing, it's called Tomorrow and it's an Annie au featuring stony + spiderson!! Keep an eye out on my account here or on twitter for details, coming soon!! 
> 
> for now, happy (belated) birthday, Tony! i love you 3000, you'll always be my iron man... i lvoe u bruh,,,,, yuor'e my only ho......

When Peter woke up that morning, he blinked blearily at his phone’s cracked screen, slowly processing the date and time screaming at him to wake up and start the day.

_May 29, 2019 - 6:00AM_

It took him a long moment to figure out the second half of the alarm message blaring at him.

_Tony Stark - 49_

Peter slowly sat up in bed, yawning as he stretched pleasantly.

“Wha’s… huh?” He looked around, and realised he was in his room in the Avengers compound. Beyond him he could hear some of the Avengers already awake, some of them probably not having even slept, and Peter smiled to himself.

It had been a while since he was made an Avenger, but until now, it still put a smile on his face. He got up and out of bed, tugging on a shirt and a pair of lounge pants—that same pair Tony got him the first time he took Peter’s suit away, hilariously enough—and headed outside, only to be accosted with the sound of Wanda, Natasha and Clint singing off-key to a clearly dishevelled-looking Tony.

“Happy birthday to you!” They cheered, and Peter blinked as the two women set down a plate stacked with three pancakes, and Tony finally smiled.

“Thanks.” He said, and Peter froze at his door.

That was right—now he understood what the alarm meant.

Today, Tony Stark turned 49, and Peter hadn’t prepared anything for him.

Screaming internally, Peter rushed back to his room, mentally berating himself as he hurried into his suit, utterly mortified that he, of all people, could have forgotten about Tony’s birthday. He darted back out of his room in time to almost run into Steve, who was making his way down to the common area.

“Oh, Peter!” The man smiled in greeting, but the teen stammered out an apology and jumped right over Steve’s head past him. Steve jumped, and whirled around as Peter bolted to the exit. “Peter?” He called after him.

“Sorry, Cap! I’m, uh… going out to, uh,” He stammered. “Rob… a bank? Yeah, sorry, see you, goodbye, Captain!”

“Huh?” Steve blinked at him, but the boy was gone before he could ask more. He turned around just in time to see Vision emerge from his room, cocking his head at Peter as well. The blond soldier gave the man a smile, and Vision gave him a nod.

“Was that Peter?” He asked, and Steve nodded.

“I’m guessing he completely forgot about Tony’s birthday today.” He chuckled, “He’s probably going to get something for him.”

Vision crossed his arms. “He hasn’t had breakfast yet.”

Steve shook his head fondly, chuckling.

“Figures.”

* * *

“ _I’m, uh… going out to, uh… rob… a bank?_ ” Peter’s voice played back to him as Peter soared over rooftops. The teen groaned, running his free hand down his face as he shot another web at an incoming ledge to continue swinging.

“Oh, my _god._ ” He breathed. “I can’t _believe_ I said that to Cap, of all people.”

He landed on a rooftop of some apartment complex, and sighed deeply as he looked over the city, sitting heavily down at the ledge as below him Queens stirred to life.

“What do I do…” he sighed, pulling off his mask as he pulled his phone out of his pockets, glumly looking down at the date. “I completely forgot it’s Mr. Stark’s birthday today…”

“Yeah, that’s what Steve said,” Sam’s voice said in his intercom, and Peter jumped, dodging out of the way in time to see a paper bag hurtling towards him. His eyes widened, and he shot a web forward to catch it, pulling it towards himself as Sam landed heavily on the roof, grinning at Peter. “Breakfast, kid. You missed it.”

“Oh.” Peter looked down into the bag to see it was a metallic lunch box, with a note taped to it.

_Steve told me you just took off. Don’t skip breakfast, kid._

_-Tony_

Peter felt his cheeks turn pink in embarrassment as Sam pressed his fingers to his ears.

“Ease up, Barnes. Told you I’d find him first.” He said, and Peter looked up at him in surprise. Suddenly the fire escape gate blasted open, and Bucky strode out, glaring daggers at Sam as he shoved a flask into Peter’s arms, not even looking at the teen.

“Fuck you,” He spat flatly, and turned to Peter. “It’s from Stark.”

“Th-thanks.” Peter said quietly, and the two went right to bickering as Sam picked Bucky up, shooting back off through the sky towards the Avengers compound. The teen watched them leave, smiling slightly, before he sat down heavily on the ledge of the roof again, gingerly opening the flask first. He melted slightly at the scent of rich milk chocolate—sue him, the last time he drank coffee from Tony’s stocks, no one could calm him down, so he’d been banned from the stuff until he was 21, at least—and smiling, he put the lid back on.

Next, he opened the box to realise that it had one of Natasha and Wanda’s pancakes in it. His eyes widened.

“Karen, can you call Mr. Stark?”

“ _Can do, Peter._ ”

He held up his wrist, projecting Tony’s grinning face at him the moment the call patched through.

“Mr. Stark, why’d you give me your birthday present from Nat and Wanda?” He asked, and then winced. He let Tony know he knew what today was, making the reason of his little runaway stunt all the more obvious.

“ _Because a little someone skipped breakfast, and I’d never hear the end of it from Mr. Stark-Rogers if I let our little guy miss even just a single meal._ ” Tony drawled, and Peter realised that the man was in sitting up in bed, sheets pooling at his waist.

“Are you… in bed?”

“ _Yes._ ” The man nodded once. “ _Again, Mr. Stark-Rogers._ ”

Peter pouted in thought at that. “Wait—wait a minute. But I thought Cap was just Rogers?”

“ _Ah, that’s the thing._ ” Tony said, “ _Listen up, Underoos. I’m gonna need your help._ ”

The teen blinked at the man as Tony’s grin widened.

“You _what?_ ”

* * *

“Think of it as a cute little birthday errand for me.” Tony said, snuggling back against his pillows, sighing softly as outside he could still hear the rest of the Avengers poorly hiding their attempts to keep their activities outside quiet.

He couldn’t help the smile that crossed his face as he heard Scott say right outside his door, “ _Shit, what the hell do you even get for a guy like Tony Stark? Doesn’t he have everything?_ ”

“Real smooth, guys.” He muttered, and in the feed, he saw Peter cock his head. “No, not you, kid. Okay, listen up. Do you have your credit card on you?”

“ _M-my wh-what? I don’t have a credit card?_ ” Peter asked, looking alarmed as Tony burst out laughing, watching the teen’s cheeks turn bright pink as he began to stammer in embarrassment. “ _Mr. Stark, you’ve gotta be kiddin’ me!_ ”

“It’s there, buddy. C’mon, look for it. Ask your AI where it is.”

“ _Karen?_ ” Oh, he’d named her Karen? That’s adorable. Jesus, what a sweet kid.

“ _Yes, Peter?_ ” The AI chirped.

“ _I have a credit card?_ ”

“ _Yes. The magnetic strip is present in the left index finger inseam of your suit, and the physical card should be with your Avengers ID card._ ” She replied.

Peter lit up, and he looked at Tony, who cocked his head cockily as he raised an eyebrow at him.

“ _M-Mr. Stark, oh my gosh, what—why—_ ”

“Avenger paygrade, baby.” He replied, shrugging noncommittally. “But that’s not what I’m asking.” Tony looked down at his wrist, tapping at a little band around it and watched as his suit gauntlet materialised around it. “I’m gonna need you to go to this shop and pick up order 0704.”

“ _Uh, okay?_ ” Peter blinked. “ _What’s it for, Mr. Stark?_ ”

“My birthday.” He replied, and then winked at Peter. “Which you totally didn’t forget, right?”

Peter turned bright red, betraying everything, but he nodded vigorously despite it. Tony laughed softly at that, but he didn’t say anything.

“ _T-totally, Mr. Stark. I so totally remembered._ ” He stammered. “ _OkayIgottagonowbye!_ ”

“Hey, hey!” Tony called, “Don’t forget to eat breakfast, you doofus. And bring the stuff back, Steve and I stole that from Lang, and I’m a hundred percent sure he hasn’t noticed it yet.”

Peter’s laugh was lovely, like snowbells. “ _Got it, dad._ ” He said, and cut the call.

Tony blinked at the inactive hologram, processing what just happened, and a smile slowly crossed his face.

“Oh, what the hell.” He laughed softly, rubbing his face with his hand as he couldn’t— _wouldn’t_ —stop smiling. “And he says he’s totally forgotten my birthday.” Tony huffed, turning to see Steve peeking into the room. He didn’t open the door the whole way through, but his boyfriend did little to hide whatever was going on outside.

Which was—mainly—everyone making a mess, one way or another.

 _God,_ he loved them all.

“I thought we were sleeping, Mr. Stark?” Steve chuckled softly, stepping into Tony’s room to shut the door behind him, and Tony nodded to himself.

Well, okay, he loved one person more than most—

 _Aside_ from himself.

“Was trying, but Lang’s big mouth outside—”

“ _Oh, fucking motherfucker!_ ” Rocket swore right after a crash sounded, and Quill’s laughter rang through the air.

“ _Language!_ ” Maria chimed from somewhere a little closer to the door, and T’Challa’s voice travelled past the door, as if he’d walked past it.

“ _If you’re worried about Shuri, she’s already worse than the raccoon. There is nothing to worry, Miss Hill._ ”

“ _O-oh, I, uh._ ”

“ _He’d totally miss the joke, Maria._ ” Natasha said, “ _Wasn’t here during Ultron._ ”

Steve rolled his eyes. “FRIDAY, soundproofing, please.”

“ _Of course, Captain._ ”

All sounds from outside completely disappeared, and Steve crossed his arms at Tony, who was snickering into his fist.

“Yeah, totally playing the audio FRIDAY was capturing outside in this room was totally them being unsubtle about it.” Steve deadpanned, cocking his head expectantly at Tony, who shrugged, grinning innocently. Still, the blond couldn’t help but smile, as he strode over to Tony’s side, sitting down at the edge of his bed to run his fingers through Tony’s hair. “Go to bed, genius. I’ll wake you up in time for the inevitable party.”

“Do you want me surprised, or…?” Tony asked, and Steve laughed, the corners of his eyes crinkling beautifully in Tony’s eyes, and the man couldn’t be surer of the man beside him. “Okay, okay, do you want fake surprise or like, almost genuine I could fool maybe Peter about it?”

“Just do you.” Steve replied, leaning down to kiss him gently, and Tony pulled him down to deepen the kiss. The blond laughed between their lips as they moved together, and when they parted for air, Tony ran his hands through Steve’s neatly combed hair.

“Mm, I might go to sleep if someone incentivises me.” He said, and Steve rolled his eyes, pulling away from his boyfriend. “Aw, _c’mon._ ”

“Unlike you, I have a birthday party to help prepare. All of us agreed on equal contributions, Tony.”

“Hey, distracting the man of the night is plenty enough contribution.” Tony pointed at him, and Steve laughed, leaning down to kiss the tip of Tony’s finger before finally getting up from Tony’s bed.

“You wish.” He replied, “I still have to look for Parker if he stays out for too long. Bucky and Sam just reported in that they got his breakfast to him alright, though.”

“That’s good.” Tony nodded, “By the way, speaking of the kid—he’s already given me the best present of the day, babe. Think you can top that?”

Steve gave him a little grin, small and secretive, and Tony felt his stomach turn in anticipation. The blond made a show of considering his words, before shrugging playfully.

“Maybe.” Steve replied, and gave Tony a little wave. “I’ll see you later, Tony.”

“S-see you later.” Tony’s lips curled up into a dopey grin at the door as Steve shut it behind him.

* * *

“0704, huh?” The old woman echoed, and Peter nodded nervously, not quite willing to disengage his suit just to make Tony’s purchase—he’d grabbed his Homecoming suit (he’d called it that after several embarrassing mix-ups with the Iron Spider suit) on his way out, and he didn’t have any other clothes underneath it. He didn’t have anything with him, either, save for the food containers Sam and Bucky left him. Slowly, she ducked down under the counter, and Peter resorted to looking around the little shop, bouncing on his heels as he looked around.

He’d been expecting a place like Tiffany’s, or something. Tony seemed to be the type to buy everything branded, and for a brief, heart-stopping moment, Peter thought he would have to come running into a fancy shop in his suit only to freak people out.

Instead, he was in a little slightly run-down antique shop in the back of a little neighbourhood of quaint little 40’s style shops and houses. It made Peter smile, seeing them there, and he was glad there was only the stray blogger at the window snapping likely blurry pictures of him through the old-style windowpanes.

Odd, that Tony had an order here, but he was grateful they at least accepted credit cards. He’d left his physical card in the Avengers Compound, so the one on his finger would have to do.

“Ah, here it is, dearie.” She said, and Peter jumped, whirling around to see that the old woman was holding up a little box. It was black and covered with velvet, and it was beautiful, despite the fact that it was slightly dusty. “For one…” she squinted at the tag on it. “Tony Stank?”

Peter giggled slightly, and beamed at her. “Tony Stark, ma’am.” He said, but held his hand out for the box. “Can I take a look?”

“Oh, of course, sweetheart.” She said, shakily dropping the box in Peter’s hands before hobbling over to the side. “Let me pour you some tea while you’re at it.”

“Thank you.” Peter smiled at her, but then hesitated when he realised that she wouldn’t really see it past his mask. He settled for bowing at her slightly, and looked back down at the box. “Wonder what this is…”

He carefully lifted the lid open, and his eyes widened.

“Oh.” He breathed, and he smiled slowly. “Stark-Rogers, huh.” He laughed softly, and closed the box again. “Wow, even Cap has a really good gift for Mr. Stark…”

“Here you go, darling.” The old woman said, and handed him a chipped teacup with steaming water in it. Peter looked down at it dubiously, but he took it from her with a forced smile on his lips. “Okay, do help me with this darned machine, will you? Let’s get that purchase sorted out.”

“U-uh.” Peter said awkwardly, setting the box down on the counter before carefully pulling up a bit of his mask to take a sip.

He resisted the urge to make a face— _any face._

 _Shit,_ he thought. This was just hot water!

“Th-thank you, ma’am!” He forced himself to say, and set the cup down. He hurried over to her side, and together they fumbled through the terminal until Peter finally managed to swipe his credit card, paying for Tony’s order mostly painlessly. When they were done, Peter tucked the box into a safe pocket in his suit, and turned back to the old lady.

“Take care now, dearie—oh, you haven’t finished your tea yet!”

Peter winced. He was hoping he didn’t have to.

“O-oh, right.” He said weakly, and forced himself to down the rest of the now-lukewarm water. He gave the old woman a shaky smile.

“I’m sure Mr. Stank is going to love that order. It’s genuine, you know! Right from the 1940s!” She laughed, and Peter couldn’t help but smile at that. “It’s a one-of-a-kind, if I say so myself!”

“Hey, um…” Peter began, and the old woman cocked her head at him. “I… today is the birthday of someone really important to me.” He said, and the old woman’s smile softened on him. “I’m sure everyone he knows will have something for him, but I just… I don’t.”

“Sweetie, what matters is that you’ve thought of him.” She said, patting Peter’s cheek through his mask, and he smiled weakly at her. “I’m sure he’s happy to just see you on his birthday.”

“I, uh… hope so too.” He nodded, and gently stepped away from her. “Well, I gotta go! Thanks, ma’am!”

“Anytime, Spider-dearie!” She giggled, and waved him goodbye as he stepped out of her shop, slinging himself up onto the rooftops to make his way back to the Avengers Compound.

He came to a stop on a tall building, perching on the lightning rod as he sighed, pulling the box out of his pocket to look at it.

“A present for Mr. Stark, huh…” He mumbled. “Hey, Karen?”

“ _Yes, Peter?_ ”

“I know this is a stupid question.”

“ _No question is stupid._ ” Karen said, and Peter laughed softly, smiling sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his neck. “ _Questions mean you’re learning, Peter. Asking isn’t stupid._ ”

“Yeah, I guess…” the boy bashfully agreed. “Hey, so… it’s Mr. Stark’s birthday, right? What do you think I should do?”

“ _Didn’t Mrs. North tell you it’s okay to just be there for him?_ ”

“Well, _yeah,_ but this is Mr. Stark we’re talking about here.” He said. “Mr. Stark, he’s—he’s changed my whole life, and I just—I just wanna,” Peter sighed, burying his face in his knees. “I mean, what can you give someone who has everything?”

Karen was quiet for a moment, but Peter couldn’t quite stand the sound of silence between them.

“He’s so kind and he’s really funny. He’s always got the answer to everything, and he’s so inventive… he’s amazing, Karen.” He rambled, fiddling with the box between his fingers as he talked. “I could only wish I was some percent as good or as kind as he is.”

Peter sighed.

“I know Mr. Stark’s been through a whole lot, and I just wanna make him happy.” He said meekly. “Like how he’s made me happy these past few years. But I don’t know what to do.”

“ _You are making him happy, though?_ ” Karen said, and Peter blinked.

Suddenly, Peter’s laughter rang in his ears, and the teen realised this was a recording from his earlier call with Tony.

“ _Got it, dad._ ” He’d said, without realising, and Peter’s cheeks felt like they were on fire.

“Oh. My. Gosh.” He breathed. “Karen, do you think—”

“ _FRIDAY has already saved it to Mr. Stark’s personal files._ ” Karen replied. “ _He’s very fond of you, Peter. It’s likely that he’ll enjoy anything you’ll come up with for his birthday._ ”

Peter laughed weakly, shaking his head. “I dunno… it’s weird to admit this, but I just don’t know what to do, y’know?”

“ _He did ask you to go on this errand. Maybe that’s enough?_ ”

“That’s not a birthday present!” Peter huffed, ruffling his hair in frustration. “I just—”

Suddenly a particularly strong gust of wind blew at him. It wasn’t like that was much of a problem—he’d tweaked the Homecoming suit with Tony’s supervision to have it accommodate dynamic temperature changes, turning on the heater at a certain threshold temperature without prompting, and he had a good grip on the lightning rod.

No, the problem wasn’t Peter.

It was the box, which had nothing on it, sending it toppling out of Peter’s grip and hurtling down straight towards the streets below.

The teen let out a shout of horror, and he dove towards it, firing a web forward to catch it mid-air, coming to a stop at the side of the building with a not-at-all-delicate _smack_ against hard rebar.

Peter winced, and sighed exasperatedly at the box.

“Okay, screw this. Let's get this pain in the ass back to the compound, first.”

He shot a web at an adjacent building, but he stopped when he heard someone scream in the alleyway beneath him, and Peter looked down witheringly at a mugging happening far beneath him.

He hesitated, and looked towards the distance at the Avengers compound, and he shook his head.

He had to save that person down there.

Peter bit his lip, tucking the box into his pockets securely again as he dropped down.

First and foremost, he was an Avenger. He helped people—he was the friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man first.

Being Peter Parker came second, these days. As much as he hated to admit it, Tony Stark came second today. Someone needed his help.

* * *

“Put that on the fridge, FRIDAY.”

“ _Footage saved, sir._ ” FRIDAY replied, and beside Tony, Stephen huffed fondly into the rim of his mug of tea as the two men settled down into a comfortable silence between them.

“Put it on the fridge, Stark? Really?” He asked, and Tony rolled his eyes, dismissing the holograms in front of him to sip at his own mug of coffee.

“Admit you’re soft on him too and I’ll shut up about you being here.” Tony said, and Stephen rolled his eyes.

“Rogers let me in, asshole.” He said, and Tony scowled at him as the doctor smirked at him in triumph. “Still. I was right that he is your ward, wasn’t I?”

“Don’t put it _that_ way.” Tony deadpanned. “So, about later tonight, how do you think it’s going to go?”

Stephen snorted, and crossed his arms. His mug remained in place in space and time, and Tony was just that little bit jealous that he had to manually put his mug down like the rest of the world did.

“Why do you need me to tell you the outcome of tonight, if you’re already so sure about what will happen?” He asked, “Was there any doubt about tonight’s outcome?”

Tony shrugged. “Don’t wanna take any chances.”

Stephen rolled his eyes. “I’m not telling you anything.”

“But it’s my birthday!”

“Exactly.” Stephen replied, and snickered slightly. He reached out to Tony, holding something out in his fist, and the other man cocked his head at it. “This is my gift to you, this year.”

“Uh.”

“You said you wanted to see evidence of a multiverse, so here I am to deliver.” Stephen made a move to open his hand, but paused. “But I do have to give this back, immediately. Are you ready?”

Tony nodded, and the man turned his fist up, opening his fist to show Tony a necklace on his palm.

It had the pendant of a spider, and Tony frowned at it.

“What’s that?” He asked, and Stephen hushed him, turning it over to let him see the engraving on the back.

_A new spider, for a new home._

_T. S._

Tony blinked at it. “What.” He said flatly.

Stephen grinned slightly.

“In another life, Stark, young Peter was not named Parker.”

Tony’s eyes widened, and in a flashing snap, the necklace was gone from Stephen’s hand, leaving behind a little dark mark on the man’s palm.

“I couldn’t keep it here for very long,” Stephen lamented, “But I suppose it was long enough.” He gave the other man a little smile, and Tony gave him a breathless smile in return.

“That’s… that’s real sweet of you, Strange.”

“I have a heart too, you know.” The man coughed delicately, not too willing to meet Tony’s eye. “Again, happy birthday, Stark.”

“Thanks.” Tony grinned at him, and Stephen shook his head fondly. “You gonna head outside to help out?”

“Absolutely not.” Stephen replied, grinning slightly as he leaned back in his seat. “In fact, I think I’ll take up on Rogers’s request to keep you busy and asleep while I’m here.”

“Traitor,” Tony shot back, and Stephen shrugged.

“Alright, settle down and tell me what you have planned after this. I can only imagine what the rest of the world will do once your plans come to fruition…”

* * *

It was approaching 7 PM when Peter finally managed to make it back to the Avengers compound. Somehow, the rest of the world decided that Peter should stay busy the rest of the day, and he kept running into trouble one after the other, giving him no time to prepare anything for Tony’s birthday.

By the time it started getting dark, Tony gave him a call, and Peter was just about close to crying, but he persevered, listening to Tony’s instructions as he made his way back to the compound as fast as he could.

If he had to break a window in the process, well, that was on his paycheck, he supposed.

“ _Underoos!_ ” Tony called in his earpiece, and just in time, too, as Peter swung forward, sticking both his legs out to kick the windows in, the glass smashing drowning out the sound of the other Avengers shouting in alarm.

The last time Tony called on him like that, it was to steal Steve’s shield. Now, he dropped the box into Steve’s hands before rolling onto the ground, shooting up into a familiar low stance, looking around the room.

“ _Peter?_ ”

Oh, even May was here.

Peter straightened up, yanking his mask up to beam at her, waving pleasantly. “Hi, May!”

“Wh—what’s—” Steve was at a loss for words, and Peter completely forgot his impending breakdown as he saw Tony get down on one knee. A wide smile spread across his face, and he bounced on his heels as he squeezed his mask tightly in his hands.

“Tony?” Steve breathed, as the pieces clicked together.

“Open the box yourself, babe.” The man laughed into his fist, and Steve laughed incredulously, running his hand through his hair as he opened the ring box Peter dropped into his hands. “Marry me?”

“Oh, Tony,” Steve chuckled, and pulled out a ring from his pocket too. “I was going to surprise you, too, but I guess whatever it was I had in mind was gonna get blown away by Peter crashing through a window.”

Tony lit up at that, and turned to Peter, giving him a thumbs up. Peter laughed nervously, giving Tony a thumbs-up, and around them, the Avengers shared warm, friendly laughter. Peter deflated in on himself, laughing nervously as Steve pulled Tony up onto his feet, and the teen shuffled away from the centre of attention.

“So, uh… that a yes?” Tony asked, grinning widely, and Steve rolled his eyes.

“Oh, that’s a no from me, Tony.” He replied. “I just picked up a ring for you because I felt like it.” The other man laughed brightly, kissing him deeply as the crowd burst into applause.

Peter smiled weakly and clapped along, before he quietly hurried away towards his room.

* * *

“Hey, buddy.”

Peter jumped, whirling around to see Tony peering into the room, giving him a little smile as the teen deflated, turning back to look at his hands on his lap. He heard Tony walk in, shutting the door behind him, and then sighed at the feeling of Tony’s hand landing on his shoulder heavily.

“Thanks for today.” He said, and Peter looked up at him, eyes watery. The man laughed softly, and he gave Peter a one-armed hug. “Hey, what’s going on over here? No one’s allowed to be upset, it’s my birthday today.”

“Th-that’s exactly it, Mr. Stark,” Peter said, but made no move to pull away from the man. “I-it’s your birthday, and I never got anything for you.”

“Jeez, you know that’s not important.” Tony said, rubbing the back of his neck, and Peter shook his head vehemently.

“No, _you’re_ important, Mr. Stark.” Peter said, and Tony’s warm smile at him brought pinprick tears to his eyes. “I-I just—I feel like if I don’t—” He shook his head, wiping at his eyes as Tony shook his head fondly, squeezing Peter’s shoulder. “ _It’s your birthday._ ”

“Yeah, I noticed.” Tony replied, and Peter laughed weakly, sniffling gingerly as the man rubbed his arm comfortingly. “Listen, kid. You’ve already done a lot for me, okay? We're okay.”

“But you’ve done so much more for _me._ ” Peter replied, and Tony shook his head, ruffling Peter’s hair fondly.

“Pete, kid, you have no idea.” He said, and when he pulled away, he cupped Peter’s face in his hand. “Y’know, I had a dream.”

“Huh?” Peter blinked moisture out of his eyes, and winced as Tony rubbed them away with his thumb.

“I had a dream I had a kid,” He said, “And it was amazing.”

“Mr. Stark…” Peter breathed, and Tony pressed a kiss to his forehead.

“And you, kid, you made that dream a reality.” Tony murmured, and Peter’s eyes widened. “I knew it was crazy, recruiting some kid to join the Avengers, to fight in a literal war, but you know what? I don’t regret it. Not anymore.”

He smiled at Peter as he flicked a stray lock of hair away from Peter’s forehead.

“Thanks, kid, for letting me know I’m not some failure like my dad was.” He said, and Peter’s expression melted, diving at the man to pull him into a hug. Tony laughed, and patted Peter’s back, before gingerly hugging him back. The teen stiffened up in his arms, and he rubbed Peter’s back comfortingly. “We’re there, Pete. We’re there.”

“Th-thanks, Mr. Stark.” Peter said gingerly. “H-happy birthday.”

“Thank you, Peter.” He said, and he pulled away to grin at Peter. “Now get out there and beat Shuri at Chubby Bunny. Someone’s gotta rep America, kid, and I can’t keep letting Wakanda win everything.”

Peter laughed, and he nodded, getting up as Tony pulled him up onto his feet.

“We’re… we’re gonna be okay?” Peter asked meekly, and Tony nodded, hugging him one-armed again.

“We’re gonna be okay.” He said, and together, they walked back out into the communal area.


	2. and wake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the true ending, and a real goodbye.

“And wake.”

Peter gasped deeply, jolting upright. It felt like breaking the surface of water, his breaths heavy and laboured as he writhed against the binds on his wrists, keeping him in place. He struggled in his seat, tears rolling down his face, seeing rainbows scatter around the face of Quentin Beck looking down at him, a little leer on his face.

“Aww, how cute.” The man drawled, and like a bubble bursting, the rest of the world came rushing back to him.

It wasn’t 2019, it wasn’t even Tony’s birthday.

He was in London, caught in Mysterio’s trap.

He could hear the sound of Ned and MJ’s panicked shouting in his earpiece, desperately trying to find a way to him.

Peter was alone.

Utterly, painfully alone—

Because Tony Stark was dead, and the rest of Peter’s world died with him.

Peter glared at Mysterio as the man hummed pleasantly, gently taking the respirator off Peter’s face to inspect it.

“You wished to go back to a life that never was, did you?” Mysterio hummed, reattaching it to a new tank of gas, chuckling darkly as he watched a trace amount of green gas emerge from it. “It’s almost heartbreaking, really. How very touching.”

Peter coughed. He could feel his throat was dry, and his head was spinning. Direct, continuous contact with the gas—god, he didn’t know if it was poisonous, what it was doing to him. How long had he been out? It couldn’t have been long, Ned and MJ were still on the line—

No, they weren’t. They were fine and safe back at home in Queens. Tony’s birthday wasn’t done yet, but Peter could see Steve and Tony slow dancing together to Sinatra on the promenade. Everything was fine—

Everything was _not_ fine, Peter needed to get out of here.

_That’s ridiculous. Tony’s alive and well._

“Tony—” Peter choked out, “Tony Stark is dead.”

“That’s not what you want to believe.” Mysterio said, and reattached the respirator to Peter’s face. “But one more dose for you, and you’ll finally believe the lies you tell yourself.”

Peter struggled in his hold, but as the gas poured into his lungs, he felt his eyes water up with tears as his vision swam—

And he was back in the Avengers compound, snuggled between Steve and Tony as they watched a movie on TV.

It was easy, so easy to let go.

“We’re gonna be okay, kid.” Mysterio’s voice melded with Tony’s as Peter struggled to stay awake.

“We-we’re…”

Peter bit back a sob, and he pushed Tony away.

“We’re gonna be okay!”

He could hear the sound of an explosion shaking the compound, and the cuffs on his wrists snapped off as Peter yanked his arms from the table.

He tore off the respirator, panting heavily as he wiped tears from his eyes.

It was hard to say goodbye, but he could do it without Mysterio’s help, thank you very much.

“Game over, Mysterio.” He growled. “That’s enough.”

**Author's Note:**

> my dudes i am so fucking sorry


End file.
